


Sleepless

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [28]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:19:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4946437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	Sleepless

"How's the new partner working out?" Scully asks. She's dressed for work, even though it's Saturday. And almost midnight. I have a feeling she's probably been at Quantico since sometime this morning. In theory, teaching should provide her with a lighter workload, but I've been asking her for a lot of favours, and it's entirely possible she's behind on her actual work.

We had joked about my new partner the other day over the phone, but I'm not in the mood anymore. I shrug, by way of an answer. "How's Quantico?"

She shrugs also, but it's accompanied by a little smile. I know she liked teaching before, but she was glad working on the X-Files offered her more of a challenge. "I've been going through assignments all day. I had to quit when the words all started blending together."

I allow a small laugh, taking a sip of tea. As soon as the steaming liquid hits my stomach, I remember I haven't eaten since lunch. My stomach growls, and Scully looks at me out of the corner of her eye. "Guess I'm a little hungry," I say, stating the obvious. "Krycek doesn't like stopping to eat. Says it ruins the momentum."

"He sounds like a treat," she says dryly. 

"You wanna go grab something? We could pick up a pizza and go to my place."

She looks inexplicably panicked for a second. "I should probably head home soon. I'm kinda tired...and not that hungry, actually."

Neither of those things has ever held her back before. I nod, not quite ready for her to leave. Having a new partner has made me miss her more. At least when I was on my own, I could hold out hope we'd be back as partners soon. Having her position 'filled' has only emphasized how well we worked together. And how much closer as friends we'd become. These covert meetings and occasional consultations on cases just don't cut it. Honestly, when we were bantering about my new partner the other day was about the only time it felt like normal. Most other times, our conversations end up tense. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she doesn't seem like she's in any rush to leave. My stomach decides to speak up again. "You sure about not being hungry?" I smile.

She chuckles, "Not nearly as hungry as you appear to be."

"Change your mind?"

She shakes her head, if somewhat reluctantly. "It's not good for you to eat a heavy meal this late at night."

"That's never stopped us," I remind her.

"I'm trying to lose weight, if you must know," she says, only slightly irritated and takes a sip of her tea.

I turn fully to look at her. "Since when?" Scully's weight is something I've never honestly considered. She's beautiful; and always has been beautiful. And she's never struck me as the type of person to worry about her figure. She has always leaned towards health consciousness though.

"Since my mom asked my sister to ask me if anything is wrong with me because I'm getting fat," she says. She does her vocal equivalent of an eye roll as she says it. She also has a slight smile on her face, so I know she's not taking this too seriously.

"Did she really do that?" I ask, my amusement clear.

"Maybe not those exact words, but basically. I just think that since I turned thirty my metabolism slowed a bit. Took me a while to notice, and now I've just got to adjust for that."

I don't know if that's true or not, but now that I'm thinking about it, I volunteer, "You know, my jeans have been a little tighter lately."

I get a full eye roll out of her this time. "Mulder--"

"I'm serious. Neither of us is out in the field as much anymore. Maybe chasing aliens is better exercise than either of us ever realized."

She covers her face with a hand and sighs. After looking at me and shaking her head, she gets up from the bench. "Come on, Chubby," she begins, "let's go get some salad."

The laugh that escapes me is so sudden and genuine that tea almost squirts out my nose. I get up to follow her, happy to eat whatever she wants, as long as it gets me a bit more time with my partner.


End file.
